RNC gives NH Primary huge win

The Republican National Committee voted on new rules for the 2016 presidential primary season that are expected to put New Hampshire's primary in the strong position to defend it's first-in-the-nation status against other states.

The goal of the new host of rules is to both shorten the presidential primary process and, in theory, have a Republican nominee that is less bruised by primary opponents and has more money to spend in the general election.

When Republicans looked back on their 2012 presidential process some said the process went on too long, had too many debates, and left the eventual nominee Mitt Romney's campaign basically broke and unable to defend themselves in the summer when Barack Obama's campaign launched massive amounts of negative ads.

Under these rules, New Hampshire and Iowa's first contests would start in February 2016, a month later than they were four years ago. Nevada and South Carolina would also be permitted to hold their contests in February. All other 46 states must hold their primaries and caucuses between March and May. The party's convention would occur in the early part of the summer instead of the late summer.

The 2016 primary will be the 100-year anniversary of the New Hampshire Primary.